Subscribe to the Free Print Edition!
Celebrating 25 Years

GCN Home > 07/24/06 issue

E-government at funding crossroads

Lawmakers tighten reins on projects as agencies struggle to explain their value

By Jason Miller, GCN Staff

Congressional appropriators, taking their strongest stance on e-government to date, have applied spending restrictions that would leave the 25 government- wide projects and Lines of Business initiatives struggling to move forward.

Committee staff people on the Hill insist Congress doesn’t have anything against e-government, but that agencies’ failure to explain the value of the projects has caused lawmakers to balk at funding the cross-agency systems.

“Everything else in an agency’s budget needs to be justified, why not e-government?” a Senate Appropriations Com- mittee staff member said. “They could not answer what the metrics for success were. If this was a business, they would know what they were getting out of it. It seems like a simple question, but then they wrap you around a post with their answer.”

In three fiscal 2007 spending bills, lawmakers have placed the toughest restrictions yet on the ability of many agencies to transfer funds to help pay for the 25 Quicksilver and Lines of Business projects.

The restrictions would stop—or at the very least severely delay—the flow of more than $40 million between agencies, based on 2006 data.

The provisions come despite the Office of Management and Budget’s best efforts to explain why Congress should continue to fund these presidential priorities.

In addition to the congressional limitations, agency support seems to be wavering. The Appropriations Committee staff member said it took executive department officials more than four months to answer what the staff member called four basic questions posed by the lawmakers about why these initiatives are worthwhile.

The questions, posed by the Commerce, Justice and State Appropriations Subcommittee, were:
  • What specific benefits does the agency receive regarding e-government activities?
  • What savings do the e-government projects generate?
  • What is the offset for the reprogramming of funds to cover e-government projects?
  • What exactly does the money go to?
Additionally, the Senate staff member said, more than a few agency officials have contacted the committee to complain about the initiatives.

Stalled projects

The House and Senate appropriations committees have moved 2007 funding bills that would effectively stall many of the e-government projects, as at least 11 agencies would have to justify to members why they are transferring the money and what benefits they are receiving.

More news on related topics: E-Government, Lines of Business, IT Management



GCN Popup